Introduction
to Celtic Christianity - by Caedmon Greene
Celtic
Christianity was that form held by much of the
population of the British Isles from about the end
of the fourth century, until some time after the
year 1171. Like any church it varied in form, from
place to place, and time to time. However there is
a constant stream that runs through that
identified it as an unique entity. The classic
period of Celtic Christianity ran from the fifth
through the ninth centuries, in the
"traditional" Celtic Lands (Ireland,
Scotland, Wales, and Brittany) on the continent
(France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany)
and beyond (Iceland, the Farroes, and other North
Atlantic islands perhaps in Russia and North
America).
Celtic
Christianity was characterised by extreme
holiness, a love of God and man, and wanderlust
from the need to bring the light of Christ to the
world. Also, many of the issues that the Celtic
Christians dealt with are amazingly contemporary -
things like the position of women in the Church,
nature and our environmental surroundings, and
dealing with others of different customs and
beliefs (both pagan and Christian). Much of its
attraction comes from how it dealt with these
problems, taking the best from older traditions
while still standing firm in the truth.
Tradition
holds that the faith was brought to the British
Isles by Joseph of Arimathea and Aristobulus in
A.D. 55 (some argue it was as early as A.D. 35)
[Some] modern scholarship rejects this, and place
the introduction in the middle of the second
century. Little is known of the first several
centuries, however, Christianity was firmly
established in Roman Britain by the time of the
council of Arles (314) as two British bishops were
in attendance. (There is also a possibility that
British bishops were at Nicaea).
The
true flowering of Celtic Christianity occurred
after the Romans left Britain and they found
themselves alone, surrounded by hostile
barbarians. This is the time of the great celtic
Saints: Patrick, David, Brigid, Columba, Brendan,
Columbanus, and many, many others. This period was
characterized by great holiness, love of learning
and nature. It reached it's peak in the seventh
century in the Columban monastic federation of
Iona. Its decline began soon after when, in 671,
it lost Saxon Northumbria to the Roman observance.
This
was by no means the end. Celtic Christianity
survived for the next five centuries. Due to many
forces, demographic changes, Viking raids and
settlement, and the expanding Roman rite; Celtic
Christianity slowly retreated. Yet this was the
period when the Celts reached the pinnacle of
their artistic genius; combining mediteranean
plaitwork, barbarian zoomorphs, and their own
native spiral and key patterns to create
metalwork, illuminated manuscripts and
stonecarving that amazes us even today. (Some
examples include the Kells and Lindisfarne
Gospels, the Ardagh Chalice, the Tara brooche and
the Linsmore Croizer.)
Source:
International Revival Network: archive.openheaven.com.
May be freely copied provided source and/or
copyrights are included with the text.
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